


drowning inside these pools of fear (take my hand, and stay with me, my dear)

by confettics



Series: paws of fate [1]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drowning, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:14:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26311714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/confettics/pseuds/confettics
Summary: In one universe, Needlepaw falls into the river with him. In one universe, they manage to pull themselves out and onto the shore, and eventually return to their Clans.But that's another universe. In this one, he falls in, alone, and dies, alone. But the claws of fate don't care about one cat - he might be dead, but his role isn't over yet.
Relationships: Alderheart & Sparkpelt
Series: paws of fate [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1911799
Kudos: 13





	drowning inside these pools of fear (take my hand, and stay with me, my dear)

**Author's Note:**

> hehe basically what it says in the summary! in this au needlepaw doesn't fall in the river w alderpaw, and so hes swept down the waterfall and drowns. wow i sure do wonder how that'll impact avos… this will be written as a series of one-shots or two-shots. this first one picks up right before the journeying cats cross the river to escape darktail and his cats, and, well. i think you know what's going to happen! 
> 
> a quick list of changes i'm making: dandelionkit and juniperkit never existed, hollyleaf survives the great battle, and so hollytuft is renamed foxfoot, and sandstorm's role is going to be a bit different - she can't go on the quest bc she's recovering from some illness(??? i need to clear this up, maybe firestar guides alderpaw instead), and stays alive a bit longer but ultimately dies in avos. but dw she gets a good end!

Molewhisker was in the lead again, padding along at the edge of the river as the patrol searched for a place to cross. They'd decided the quest was over - there was no sign of SkyClan, and Darktail and his rogues were likely after them after their escape from the gorge. The only thing they could do was return to ThunderClan and wait for StarClan's guidance. 

Alderpaw looked out for a place where it would be safe to cross, but it was still too dark to tell how deep the water was, and it was rushing past quickly, a tumbling current that could easily sweep a cat away.

_ RiverClan cats swim _ , he thought with a shudder.  _ But we’re not RiverClan cats, and I don’t want to try it. _

“There are trees farther downstream,” Sparkpaw pointed out, as if she shared her brother’s thoughts. “Maybe there’ll be a way to cross there.”

Cherryfall gave a brisk nod. “Good idea. Let’s hurry. The sun will be up soon, and the rogues will be waking.”

She set off, bounding toward the trees, and the others followed. The first trees they reached were small and spindly, and too far away from the water to be any help in crossing. Alderpaw had hoped for a fallen tree trunk, like the one that the Clans used to cross the lake for Gatherings, but the only log he spotted was wedged at an angle into the bank, the far end jutting out into the current.

A little farther on, bigger trees began to appear, interspersed by bushes. 

Look! Over there!” Cherryfall called. She ran up to a tree that was leaning toward the river; its long branches hung over the water, stretching almost as far as the opposite side. “This is perfect!”

As he bounded closer, Alderpaw thought the tree looked dangerous, but he didn’t object. Crossing here was obviously their best chance of avoiding the rogues.

"We could cross here," Molewhisker decided, inspecting the tree. "There's just a bit of a jump at the end." 

"And if our scent disappears here, Darktail will think we got swept into the stream," Cherryfall mewed. "I think it's the best place we'll find." 

"I'll go first," Sparkpaw volunteered, not waiting for a response before she scampered up the trunk and across the branches. Alderpaw winced as she edged along the branch, gasping as she jumped off and onto the opposite bank. 

"Perfectly safe!" She called back cheerfully, seemingly unaware that she could've just fallen in. "C'mon!" An exasperated Cherryfall soon followed, Molewhisker close behind her. Needlepaw lingered by the bottom of the trunk, flicking her tail uncertainly. If Alderpaw didn't know any better, he might've said the silver she-cat was scared - not, he thought wryly, that she'd admit it if she was. 

"Hurry!" Molewhisker yowled at her across the water, and she made her choice. 

"I'm coming!" Needlepaw hurried across the branch, feigning bravery, but he could see that all the fur on her back was pricked as she jumped from the branch to the bank, making it across safely. "Come on, slow slug, hurry it up!" She called back as soon as her paws were safely on the ground. He hesitated only a moment before starting to follow her across, placing his paws on the branch just as she had. More than halfway across, he was beginning to think he'd make it across safely - 

Then the branch snapped beneath his paws. It was an ominous sound, and the one that would ultimately seal his fate. He began to fall through the air, towards the unforgiving currents of the river, the waters slapping his body as he was submerged.

Alderpaw opened his mouth to cry out, immediately regretting it as his mouth filled with water. He flailed his legs in the surging water, terrified as the cold, unfamiliar touch enfolded him. The current was so fast that he was swept away, not knowing which way was up. A heavy, rushing pressure filled his ears, and when he tried to open his eyes, he was blinded by dark water. Desperately he kicked and kicked, pain growing in his chest until he thought he would lose consciousness.

Then his head broke the surface. Gratefully, he took a gulp of air and thrashed his legs with the flow of the current to keep himself afloat. He glanced around to see if he could see his Clanmates, or anything to grab onto, but there was no sign of them. 

_ It’s still too dark to see much, _ he thought, hoping that Needlepaw, at least, had made it across safely.

He strained his ears to catch her cries, or calls from his Clanmates on the bank, but the river rushing in his ears cut off all other sounds.

The current seemed to be moving faster than ever. Looking ahead, Alderpaw saw the tumbled surface abruptly come to an end, with nothing but gloomy sky beyond. The roaring in his ears grew louder. 

_ A waterfall! _

Alderpaw knew that he had to reach the bank. He kicked out across the current, struggling to drag himself to safety, but the force of the water was too strong.

_ I’m not going to make it. This is where I’m going to die. _

Then Alderpaw felt his forepaw snag on something jutting out of the water. Somehow the contact pulled him toward the bank, and as the surge lifted him for a heartbeat, he realized he was clinging to a large branch.

The sight of the bank so close gave Alderpaw fresh hope.  _ Keep going! _ He thought to himself.  _ I can reach it! _

But however hard he fought, the river was stronger. Alderpaw glimpsed the smooth curve of the water as it reached the falls and let out a yelp of alarm as he realized he was going over.

He found himself falling, torn away from the branch, his body tossed and thrown about by the waterfall. His panic-stricken yowl was cut off as he slammed down onto the surface below and all the breath was driven out of his body.

He struggled, legs churning as he tried to keep his head above the surface. But no matter how he tried, he couldn't reach it, the pain in his chest only growing as he resisted the urge to open his mouth. 

_ I can't do it,  _ he thought dizzily.  _ My head, my chest...everything hurts.  _ He thought of his home in ThunderClan, the camp that he knew, with a grim certainty, that he would never return to.  _ Sparkpaw, Squirrelflight, Sandstorm, Bramblestar, everyone...I'm sorry.  _ He knew he should fight, keep trying to swim, but his limbs were like stone, dragging him down. He was so  _ tired. _

The pain in his chest grew unbearable, and finally, he had to let go. No matter how much he tried to fight it, his mouth seemed to open on its own.  _ No,  _ he tried to choke out, but it was too late. Dark circles were already taking over his vision, expanding ever so slowly.

When the water rushed in, he knew nothing more but darkness.

**Author's Note:**

> next up: some more alderpaw pov, and then sparkpaw's pov, and some twigkit and violetkit!  
> alderpaw's pov might be a little interspersed w theirs, we'll see how it works out.  
> i have a half-written shorter molewhisker one abt them finding alderpaw n his guilt n stuff, so would y'all prefer to see that or the sparkpaw one first? lmk  
> leave some comments/kudos it'll make my day <3


End file.
